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CJG Blog

Center for Jewish Genetics blog

With the rise in direct-to-consumer tests like 23andMe or
Ancestry DNA, people can seemingly easily discover
their biological roots. While many are not fazed by the results, which often
confirm with a family’s vague oral history of itself, others see their findings
as life-altering news that makes them question who they really are. A recent New
York Times Magazine report followed one woman’s experience receiving
test results that didn’t match who she believed herself to be.

Sigrid Johnson is one of the more than 7 million people who
have taken the popular at-home tests, which promise to reveal ancestry and
distill ethnic composition down to a pie chart. Johnson, whose biological
father was black and biological mother was white, expected her DNA results to
show she was half African and half Italian. When she took the test in 2015, her
results showed she was 45 percent Hispanic, 32 percent Middle Eastern, 14
percent European, and 9 percent “other” – which included 2.9 percent African
ancestry.

That 2.9 percent figure shocked Johnson. She told the Times the results made her afraid others
in her community would think she was a fraud. “How can I not be black?” she
said. “I lived black. I was black.” Johnson is not alone in this experience.

Earlier this year, Sen. Elizabeth Warren released her DNA
results confirming that she has Native American ancestry after facing criticism
from political rivals for listing herself as a minority in professional
directories while working at Harvard Law School. Rather than relying on a
direct-to-consumer test, Warren solicited help from Dr. Carlos Bustamante, a renown
genetics specialist and advisor to Ancestry.com. He concluded
that there was strong evidence of Warren having a Native American ancestor 6 –
10 generations ago. The Cherokee Nation disapproved of Warren’s course of
action, claiming her use of ancestry testing as inappropriate and undermining tribal
interests. The criticism and uproar were so intense that many on the left and
right questioned whether her decision would impact her potential 2020
presidential campaign.

In August 2018, House Speaker Paul Ryan discovered he had
Jewish roots while filming PBS’ “Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr.”
While Ryan never knew of his Jewish ancestry prior to the show many Jewish
people criticized him for not upholding Jewish values. Unlike Warren, Ryan wasn’t
denounced for claiming a Jewish heritage but for not being Jewish enough.

During Hanukah Sen.- elect Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez revealed
that after investigating her family history she learned her ancestors consisted
of Sephardic Jews. She further explained that Puerto Ricans are descendants of
Spanish colonizers, indigenous peoples, and Jewish refugees. Anticipating backlash,
the incoming senator tweeted, “Before everyone jumps on me – yes, culture isn’t
DNA.”

Ocasio-Cortez’s Tweet rings true:
Judaism is not defined by specific percentages in our genetic code but rather
how we choose to celebrate and honor our Jewish culture and religion. But it
also raises a larger question: what is the relationship between our genes, our
culture, and our identity? Consider individuals of Jewish ancestry, who have
a higher risk of being carriers of genetic disorders whether they chose to identify
as Jewish or not. And yet a convert considers Judaism a core part of their
identity without having any Jewish ancestry.

Sigrid’s core identity should not
change just because her DNA test results do not align with the way she chooses
to live her life. Ancestral testing is limiting and does not determine whether
an individual has the authority to claim a heritage or culture.

Ancestry
testing can be fun but does not provide a comprehensive picture of our identity
and certainly is no substitute for health risk testing. For questions about
carrier screening, cancer risk testing or other clinical genetic tests, please
contact that Sarnoff Center.

What is the most valuable gift you can give to your family? The gift of good health! There are many health conditions that run in families. Knowing your family health history can alert you to the potential risk for a variety of
genetic disorders
. Talk to your relatives for warning signs and
assess your risk
for hereditary cancers.

Did you know: Ashkenazi Jews are 10 TIMES more likely to have BRCA mutations, which significantly increases lifetime risks for hereditary cancers, so what does this heightened risk mean for you?
Click here to learn more
.